1. Field of the Invention
Portable Magnetically Actuatable Flashlight. 2. Description of the Prior Art
Portable flashlights in the past have in the main included a cylindrical housing that on a first end removably support a light transmitting lens and on a second end a threaded cap that includes a compressed electrical conducting spring that pressure contacts one terminal of the battery. The circuit in prior art flashlights is completed either by a slide type switch or a spring loaded button type switch, both of which switches have components exteriorly and interiorly disposed relative to the housing. The slide type switch has the operational disadvantage that it may inadvertently be left in a circuit completing position, and the battery runs down as a result thereof. Prior art flashlights have the operational disadvantage that when left in a damp environment or used in the rain, that moisture will enter the interior of the housing through the threaded connections on the first and second ends of the housing, as well as through the switch mechanism. Moisture that so enters the interior of the housing tends to corrode the contacts of the electric switch by forming a poor electrical conducting film thereon that has a high electrical resistance, as well as reacting with components of the battery to result in the battery swelling radially. A battery may swell radially to the extent that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to slide the same from the housing.
A major object of the present invention is to provide a flashlight that substantially eliminates the operational disadvantages of prior art flashlights.
Another object of the invention is to provide a flashlight that has a hermetically sealed interior confined space to prevent the entry of moisture thereinto, and one that can only be actuated by a permanent magnet being temporarily disposed in a first position adjacent the exterior of the housing.
These and other operational advantages of the present invention over prior art flashlights will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention.